Airplane



2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921..

N. 8. SMITH.

AIRPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30, 1920.

N. B. SMITH.

AIRPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30, 1920.

Patented Dec. 211, 1921.

ZSHEETS-SHEET 2.

AIRPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 241?, 1921.

Application filed June 30,1920. Serial No. 392,919.

T 0 all to ham it may concern:

Be it known that l, Nomunn B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented new' and useful Improvements in Airplanes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its objects an airplane which automatically maintains its stability throughout all conditions, also a plane in which the greatest dimension is parallel with the line of flight, also one in which side slipping is prevented and wherein nose diving and tail spinning is prevented, thereby preventing the dangers incident in planes heretofore.

Another object is the suspension of the car body or platform below the plane whereby a relatively level position of said body is maintained.

A further object is the changing of the points of support of the car body or platform upon any distortion from the level of the plane surface.

Another object is the provision of a damper whereby the slowing up of the airplane on making a landing is attained.

Another object is to enable the plane to be operated from and to permit its landing in a relatively narrow space, as a country road or village street, or on an estuarywhen used as a hydroplane, or on a ships deck.

A further object is the maintenance of a more balanced distribution of load and in respect to the supporting plane.

A further object is the attainment of a parachute, whereby the airplane will descend without danger, if for any reason the propeller or propellers are stopped during flight.

A further object is that my airplane may be partly collapsed and then be readily driven or transported in a relatively narrow street or if used as a hydroplane among craft in a harbor.

Other objects will appear from the drawings and description which follow.

These objects I attain by constructingmy supporting plane of three or more sections consisting primarily of'a central plane and a wing on each side thereof and hinged to the said central plane and attaching operating cables from each wing to the car body which body is also supported from the central plane, and I thereby efi'ect the distortion of one of the side wings whenever the car body is displaced from its normal center so as to decrease the'supporting surface on the high side. Stability is further attained by the weight of the supported body or other structure or load in such a way that the entire gravitational effect of the load is exerted on either side that may be relatively higher at any moment of time, thus always tending to pull the plane to a horizontal position.

Side slipping is prevented'by side walls relatively vertically disposed with respect to the central plane, and longitudinal with the ifrarpaand above the center of gravity of the I oac.

An adjustable damper located between the side walls is provided to enable an obstruction of any desired amount to be introduced present a surface at an angle with the said central plane as may befdesired by the operator.

I prefer to use two engines located one at each end of the car body and provide 'op- -.erator-compartment and passenger space therebetween.

-Myairplane will act as a parachute at any time that the driving force is removed, due to the supporting plane, wings, sidewalls, and central damper when the latter is turned at right angles to the central plans. By

turningdownward the sidewings, against the sidewalls, the width of my airplane is instantly greatly reduced, thus allowing its landing, driving or transportation in a narrow way'or street. q

By constructing the lower parts of the body or frame as pontoons my airplane may be used asa hydroplane.

By referring to the accompanying drawings my invention will be made clear.

7 Figure 1 is a side view in perspective of an airplane of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section through my airplane showing the same in side elevation and with particular reference to the operating cables and the shape of the supporting plane.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the frame and lower structure of the plane in Fig. 2 with the side planes dotted in to better show the operation of the dampers and adjustable end planes. 7 i

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal view of one of the side wings showing the warping of the wing due to the operation of the forward cable only. 7 l

Fig. 5 is a part cross section and part perspective View through the plane, wings, vertical partitions, frame, and supporting platform, and showing particularly the suspension of the latter on the line V.-V of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detail showing one of the side wings distorted and the air passage thereby created between the central plane andside wings. I

Fig. 7 shows in reduced cross section the parts set forth in Fig. 5, wherein one of the wingsv is distorted as for the purpose of maintaining stability.

Fig. 8 is similar-to Fig. 7 but with the other wing distorted in order to bring the plane back into its horizontal position.

Fig. 9 shows in detail the track means for limiting the movement of the body.

Throughout the figures similar numerals refer. to identical parts.

In the frame structure, which I have shown in these figures, there are but three frame panels indicated by the numerals 1, 2, and 3, which in turn are joined together by horizontal members 4, 5 on the bottom and corresponding top members 6 and 7. Stretched across the top of the frame is a central plane 8 which I prefer to make of wave form as indicated in Fig. 2, and on each side of saidcentral plane are the wings 9 and 10, which arehinged at suitable intervals to the frame as by hinges 11, 12, 13 and 14, and I prefer to set the hinged pivots out from the main frame, so that when either of the wings, as wing 9 in Fig. 6, is pulled away from the horizontal, either by the side swinging of the platform 15 from the-horizontal position or by the operation of the cable 16 by the operator, and which may be actuated from the Windlass as 17 (see Fig- 5) there will be permitted a flow of air from the space between the wing 9 and the plane 8 normally retain the wings in a horizontal po-- through the clearance space 18 (see Fig. 6), thus resulting in-a reduction ofthe supporting power of the wing 9 as compared Wltl'l' the wing 10. Springs as 19 are; provided to sition, such that they form in effecta continuation of the central plane '8. -;Along the sides of'the frame and adjacent to'the'top plane 8, I provide depending side walls, as

preferred walls 20 21 will form a parachute to support the entire structure against too rapid descent, and the center of gravity being substantially close to the platform or body, and well below the supporting surface of the parachute, will prevent any rapid or dangerous descent of the structure. The platform 15 is suspended from the side frames at any number of points by guy wires as 23, 24, 25, and 26. As long as the airplane retains its horizontal andvertical alinement the platform 15 will be supported by all of these guy wires equally. If, however, the plane lists from the vertical ever so little, as indicated for example in Fig. 8, the platform or body .15 will swing to the right and the control followed immediately by the correction of alinement, and it will thus be seen that stability is automatically maintained by the action of the platform 15, and the cooperative action of. the side planesthrough their controlling cables as 16 and 27., I prefer to provide on the ends of the platform 15 a traveling member and a quadrant whereby the movement of'15 may be'retained at all times within the limit of the movement of the member of the quadrant. This member is shown by the numeral 28 and the quadrant by the numeral 29, which latter may be supported in any suitable way from the frame as by the guy wires 30, see Fig. 9. At 31 I provide a front rudder or guiding plane (see Figs. 2 and 3), andpat 32, 33, vertical steermg planes or rudder, and at 34 a tail guiding ilane, which latter I'prefer to cut away as provided operating means from which suitable operating cables are connected to the damper plane 22; at a1 a controlling means of the plane 31; at 42 controlling means for the rudder planes 32-33; at 13 controlling means for the side wing cables d b-45, whereby the front portion of either of the side wings may be distorted independently of the rear portion (see Fig. 1), and at 17 controlling means for the rear cables 16 and 27 of the side wings, whereby they may be operated if desired independently of the front portions of the side wings. The operating means 48-17 may be connected together as by gears or chain and sprocket, so as to produce simultaneous action by the control cables 4l116 and also if desired simultaneous action of the cables l-QT.

I claim:

1. In an airplane a supporting plane parallel with the line of flight and consisting of a central member bounded on each side by a movable wing, a load suspended from the central member and connections from each wing to said load whereby 'the swinging of the load upon the tilting of the machine distorts one of the side wings to right the machine.

2. An airplane as set forth in claim 1 having a depending wall on each side of the central member and longitudinally disposed and adjacent said central member.

An airplane as set forth in claim 2, wherein a pivoted damper plane extends between the side walls, and operating means for said damper plane.

4. An airplane as set forth in claim 3 and having independent means for displacing either of the side wings with respect to the central plane.

An airplane as set forth in claim 1 wherein the load comprises a longitudinally disposed member relatively heavy, suspend- 7. An airplane as set forth "in claim 6, wherein a pivoted damper plane ext-ends between the side walls, and operating means for said damper plane.

8. An airplane as set forth in claim 7 and having independent means for displacing either of the side wings with respect to the central plane.

9. An airplane comprising a boX type frame and having thereon a supporting plane comprising a central plane and a wing on each side thereof and hinged thereto and a body longitudinally suspended beneath and from the central plane and connections from said body to said side wings, whereby upon a tilting of the airplane the swinging movement of the body actuates the upper wing to retain said wing in a substantially horizontal position.

10. An airplane as set forth in claim 9, having a depending wall on each side of the central member and longitudinally disposed and adjacent said. central member.

11. An airplane as set forth in claim 9, wherein a pivoted damper plane extends between side walls depending from the central plane, and operating means for said damper plane.

12. An airplane as set forth in claim 9, and having independent means for displacing either of the side wings with respect to the central plane.

13. An airplane as set forth in claim 1 wherein the suspension of the load from the central member is by tension cables from both sides of the load to both sides of the central plane.

lat. An airplane as set forth in claim 14: wherein said cables are connected at points on the central member farther apart than their points of connection to the said load.

15. An airplane as set forth in claim let wherein said cables are connected at points on the central member farther apart than their points of connection to the said load, whereby on the airplane tilting sidewise the point of suspension for the load and on the central member automatically shifts to the high side.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, California.

NORMAN E. SMITH. 

